In this day and age people are trying to incorporate a greener lifestyle into their everyday routine. We recycle and use products made with recycled packaging materials, drive more fuel efficient cars, conserve on natural resources and consume organically grown products. While there are many creative ways to ‘go green’ the line usually stops at alcohol. Until now.

Square One is a new line of vodka made from organically grown American rye (yes, rye) and is “born out of a certified organic fermentation process developed especially for Square One.” To put it simply, Square One is chemical and preservative free from field to bottle. And, unlike most other premium vodkas, because it has fewer impurities from the start it doesn’t need a long complex distillation process or to be filtered hundreds of times for a clean taste. What’s even more appetizing about Square One is that it’s certified organic and Kosher.

As an environmentally conscious consumer this all looks really great on paper but as a vodka drinker it means nothing to me if it tastes like the paper the product bio was written on. After acquiring Square One’s Organic Vodka and their Cucumber Vodka I pulled together my usual crew of Maverick, Secret Asian Man and Daddy Warbucks for another taste testing to judge this new ground breaking organic rye vodka. For those wondering about her absence during the past few tastings, The Russian is on the wagon.

As Maverick laid out some Asian bar snacks Secret Asian Man cracked open the Organic Vodka and began pouring shots before passing the bottle around. He and I immediately noticed there was a very clean, barely there ethanol aroma which in our experience is extremely promising. Daddy Warbucks was too intrigued by the fact that it was made from rye to notice if there was an aroma or not. But after taking a sip Secret Asian Man was quick to speak and even quicker to make himself a martini, “Wow, there’s no burn. It tastes as clean as it smells. There’s a slightly sweet taste but a very clean finish.” Daddy Warbucks was most impressed that Square One didn’t interfere with the taste of the spicy snacks. “You know how when you eat something and then you do a shot after you wind up with that really strange pasty taste in your mouth…this doesn’t do that.” Although Maverick wasn’t able to participate in the EFFEN night a few months back she claimed that Square One was the best vodka so far. Up until that point, in my opinion, EFFEN was the best but after having tasted Square One...a new bar was set. Square One easily became top vodka in my arsenal.

While we were all very excited about our new favorite 'regular' vodka, we turned our attention to the Square One Cucumber Vodka. Just as we cracked open the bottle our friend Zoolander arrived. As with past tastings I knew he wasn’t a vodka drinker. However, after all of us marveling over how enticing and clean smelling the cucumber vodka was and having taken a whiff himself, Zoolander was intrigued enough to give it a taste although he was worried it wouldn’t taste as good as it smelled. But the Square One Cucumber Vodka didn’t disappoint. While Daddy Warbucks thought it tasted a little on the strange side (he’s not usually one for veggies unless they’re fried…and French) it was still smoother than most vodkas he’s tasted. Secret Asian Man, Maverick and I all agreed it was a cool, clean and refreshing flavor. Without really knowing what to expect we found the cucumber taste was unexpectedly mild from beginning to end as it had more cucumber essence than taste. Zoolander was happily surprised that he didn’t hate it.
While we all thought it was an interesting flavor, Secret Asian Man questioned Square One’s choice of cucumber, “But what can you really make with cucumber flavored vodka?” I promptly handed him a Square One Cucumber Vodka recipe sheet that was lined front and back with a broad array of cocktails. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any or all the ingredients to make a single one of them. We were forced to use what was lying around the kitchen and since Maverick and Secret Asian Man are in the process of moving out of the neighborhood, it wasn’t much. At first the cucumber flavor was posing a challenge for a mixer. Sure, it would be perfect with tonic or club, none of which we had, and probably amazing with Hoosier Momma Bloody Mary Maker but Secret Asian Man polished off the jar the same night of that tasting. But just as we were rock paper scissoring who should go to the store, Zoolander suggested Maverick juice a handful of green apples that were in the fridge for a mixer. Cucumber and apples seemed like an odd pairing but we had nothing to lose. Surprisingly, it turned out pretty good. Secret Asian Man added some muddled crushed mint and the flavors remarkably blended into a delicious all natural organic cocktail. Chalk one up for the vodka hater.

When the apples were gone we were back to square one…no pun intended. But the ever resourceful Secret Asian Man whipped up what I dubbed “Kio Mojitos” with Sierra Mist, mint leaves and a squeeze of lime. Delicious! The cucumber vodka was actually much easier to mix than we had originally thought because the cucumber flavor is subtle and easily blends. By the end of the night I found that we drank far more Square One Cucumber than the Square One regular vodka putting all skepticism about versatility to rest. Cucumber may not be a flavor for juvenile taste buds who would assume they're getting a serving a vegetables in a glass. But for a more sophisticated tongue the cucumber flavor is actually quite flexible and its cocktail ability is only limited by one’s imagination and experience. While the more detailed oriented cucumber cocktails sounded scrumptious we were able to find suitable mixers with very limited resources. All you have to do is think outside the box and if you’ve purchased a bottle of Square One Cucumber Vodka then you’re already half way there.

Be sure to try Square One Botanical Vodka while you're at it.